By Brendon Paucek, UWEC Sports Information
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's cross country has been a national competitor the last several seasons, and their season opening victory indicates they'll continue the trend. The Blugolds, entering the season ranked 5th in the nation, won the St. Olaf Invite this weekend, placing 1st out of 19 teams.
Leading the charge was three-time cross country All-American Darin Lau (Sr. – Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel Lutheran), who won the invite for the second consecutive year.
"I though my race went pretty well," said Lau. "I wish I could've finished a little stronger than I did, but I believe getting some good workouts in these next couple of weeks will have me geared to race more efficiently in the the future."
Lau completed the 8,000m course in a time of 25:10—23 seconds ahead of Carleton's Donson Cook-Gallardo's runner-up finish.
Finishing in the top 15 were Kyler Lueck (So. – Germantown, WI/WI Lutheran), Patrick Treacy (Jr. – Fall Creek, WI/Memorial), Sam Kuhlmann (Jr. – Shorewood, WI/Shorewood), and Anthony Dupont (Jr. – Mendota Heights, MN/Henry Sibley). The four Blugolds ran in a pack for the majority of the race and finished in 6th (26:14), 9th (26:24), 12th (26:33), and 13th (26:33), respectively.
Lueck was happy with the results and execution of the team race strategy. "The team's collective goal was to run in the packs we use for workout days and hopefully claim the number one spot," the sophomore said. "I think this shows the talent and depth we have as an overall team."
Despite the weekend's success, both Lueck and Lau echoed Coach Dan Schwamberger's principle advice—patience. The team's best race performances need to happen in November to win a trophy.
"I think the big thing for us now is training smart, and hopefully we can progress and duplicate what we did last year," Coach Schwamberger said. With these outcome goals in mind, however, Schwamberger added that the team still puts more emphasis on the process rather than the outcome.
Although a national contender once again, the men will face stiff competition, specifically in the Midwest. Other noteworthy teams in the top five include University of Wisconsin – Lacrosse (No. 3) and perennial powerhouse North Central (No. 1). North Central is the reigning champion and returns many of their best runner from last year.
The Blugolds will take the upcoming week off from competition to train for their annual home meet, the Blugold Invite on September 29.
